As soon as you've passed your safety check, it's time to take a hike across "Main Street" and head over to registration, pick up your registration package, grab your T-shirt, and signup for a run.  How does this work, you ask?

 

Left:  Registration, High Desert Roundup, 2005.  Right:  The friendly folks at registration will have you fixed-up in just a couple of minutes.

Most participants of Hi Desert Round-Up pre-register, as you save a few bucks and you are assured of getting a T-shirt and dinner at Chef Andy's, if you choose.  If you register on-site, they may not have a T-shirt of your size and Chef Andy likes to know how many folks to expect so he'll know how much meat and other necessities to purchase.  So you walk up to registration and you're greeted by friendly Tammy Martin and the registration crew. If you've pre-registered, you simply hand her the letter that was sent to you in the mail, and she'll hand you your registration package.  If you've chosen to purchase T-shirts, additional dash plaques, dinner at Chef Andy's and other add-ons, it will be in your package.  Tammy will have you taken care of quickly.  In addition to efficiently handling registration duties, Tammy, in the "real" world, is an emergency room nurse.  I know from experience, as during the 1998 Panamint Valley Days pre-run, she skillfully dug a gigantic splinter out of my right palm.

 

Photos:  Registration at Hi Desert Round-Up, or any CA4WDC event, is easy and painless.  Most folks pre-register as you save a few bucks and you can order exactly the style of T-shirt you prefer.

As long as you're at registration, you should pick up a "ditty bag" that contains a bag to put trash in when you're on the trail, stickers, promotional pamphlets and an excellent program guide that tells you everything that you need and want to know about the weekend's event.  This year's guide was the best that I'd ever seen; Ginger Hughes and Digital Imprint really did a fantastic job!

Now that business is taken care of, it's time to sign up for a run.  The run sign-up boards are located in the "town square," only a few yards away from registration.  Some runs, such as Pumpkin Eater and The Empire Strikes Back have limits of how many vehicles can participate on the run, as these are extremely rough runs.  It's a good idea to sign up for the run you're interested in, as it gives the trail boss an idea of what to expect.  If you're in doubt of what to expect, the program guide has good descriptions of the runs, or you can inquire at registration, as they're happy to answer any questions that you may have.

 

Left:  Picking up the pre-ordered registration package.  Right:  Adjacent to registration, Heinz Leuschner adjusts the raffle cage.

Paul and I signed up for the Blue Moon run, which was to leave camp at 9:30 the following morning.  Blue Moon is an all-wheelbase run suitable for stock vehicles and tons of fun, which was exactly what we were looking for.

 

Left:  Hmmm, let's see, which run should we sign up for...  Right:  I know exactly which run I want to sign up for, the Blue Moon Run.

So when you pick up your registration package at Hi Desert Round-Up, say hello to the friendly folks and let them know that they're doing a great job.